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Sunday, April 4, 2021

...and out came the Sun!


Let me start by saying, "Holy Wicked Wind, Batman!"

Allow me also to say, "Thanks for the beautiful sunshine, Momma N. It made the psychotic wind a lot more bearable."

Whew! All things said, it was a CrAzY week of weather in Iowa (and, I believe, elsewhere). That which doesn't kill us, makes us ever so much stronger. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Before I share all the sunshiny details, welcome to the Weekly Run Down!

I love hosting this link-up with Deborah (from Confessions of a Mother Runner)! If you write a fitness-based blog, you're invited to join the party. The link-up opens at 1:00 (EST) on Sundays and remains open through noon on Monday. We love reading about everyone's weekly fitness endeavors, training highlights (or low lights) and race recaps. We ask that you link back to both hosts, and we encourage you to read/comment on the other linked blogs as well...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)



So, here's what went down this week in my little corner of the world:

Never Miss a Monday.
Originally, with the 70F temps in the afternoon forecast, I'd hoped to do my run in the morning and go for a bike ride after work. By morning, the forecast wind had increased to an expected 26mph, with wind gusts anywhere from 30-45mph. A big no thanks to biking in that. Instead, I cranked out eight morning miles with the indoor bike and saved my run for after work. Although the temps were pleasant, and the sunshine ever-bright, the wind had increased (even further) to 28mph by late afternoon. Yowza! Two thumbs up for some major resistance training and balance work LOL. Those three miles were character-building.


Typical Tuesday.
The wind had not relented any, and the temps had plummeted substantially from the previous day's taste-of-summer 70F's. Even though Tuesdays are typically a recovery day for me, walking is allowed. Two windblown miles, before work, and two more afterwards.


#5at5 for Wednesday.
Momma N's delayed rendezvous with Old Man Winter continued. Temps were 30F (with a feels-like of 21F) for the weekly early morning 5-miler with Barb. Little did we know, the wind would (again) be increasing throughout the day. Rising and running early definitely has its privileges.
 

All about the TLC on Thursday.
I had done some couch time on Wednesday and, consequentially, had also crashed for a few hours before making my way to my real bed. Alas, Thursday morning found me in a world of discomfort...still tired (from not being able to fall back to sleep) and a cranky back (from Wednesday's couch time). As a result, the morning's HIIT, strength work, and stair-climbing was put on-hold, and I treated myself to some stretching and five easy miles on the bike instead. Feeling much better, I also wound up walking a quick mile before work. Later, Max took me for a 1-mile lunch walk, and another 2-mile walk after work. 


Sub-freezing Friday.
Brrrr. I was planning for a long run on Saturday (actually, my longest long run -post-stress fracture), so I wanted to keep Friday on the down-low. I got out for a 2-mile sunrise walk, and that was it for the day.


Long run Saturday.
I had a dilemma. With the upcoming Drake Road Races Half Marathon, I have been building my long run distance. Last week, I'd run eight miles (with no issue). So, this week, I was scheduled to run nine miles, and then do 10 miles next weekend. Only, that would not give me any semblance of a taper prior to race day, on the 18th. Any other year, we would not be having this conversation. But this year, I have that stress fracture thing. Granted, I'm pretty much fully recovered, but I'm not quite back to prime 13.1 condition (if only this race was another two weeks later LOL). Jumping from 10-miles to 13.1 miles (with no taper, and just coming back from injury) seemed a bit aggressive. The idea came to me  to do a 10-mile run this week, then taper back to a shorter distance next week. 

How did that work for me? In a word: great! It certainly helped that the weather was nearly perfect.  There was a steady 12 mph wind out of the SW, but the sunshine was on-point. I met up with Barb, and the miles felt strong, but easy. Amazingly, all the splits were within a few seconds of each other, and we finished with 1:41 of running time (average pace 10:07). Afterwards, there was plenty of stretching and rolling, and several hours of afternoon garden squats. I also took Gustavas (my faithful bike) out for seven late-afternoon miles. Have I ever mentioned how great the bike is as a recovery vice?
  

A simply stunning sunshiny Sunday.
For the first time, in a very long time, I opted for a recovery walk instead of a run. The sunrise was on fire! I did a 2-mile walk, then saddled up Gustavas for a quick 5-mile ride before finishing up all the Easter prep...online church, dinner and an afternoon with family. If the wind isn't too crazy, there may be another walk and ride happening as well.


Despite the evil wind, and the (unplanned) 2-day recovery thing (Thursday and Friday), this turned out to be a great week. I'm over-the-moon with how well Saturday's 10-miler went; 18 total running miles this week. Walking saw 14 miles (probably more on tap for Sunday afternoon). Biking saw 25 miles of action (most of that outside!). No strength work or HIIT this week, but there were 30 flights of stairs...and I am totally alright with that. Onward! 

In case you missed out, here's what else went down on the blog this week:

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair! As much as I love my bright colors, I do go with neutrals on occasion. This high/low top feels like a cozy sweater and it coordinates great with my open-weave booties. Win-win! As always, you're free to join me on Fridays...posts a pic on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and be sure to tag me (@runningonthefly).


The hubs had a birthday this week! Yes, he's an April Fool dude.


The Illinois Criss Cross Virtual Challenge is winding down for me. The event itself ends on May 1st, but participants now have until June 1st to enter all their mileage. As of Sunday morning, I have completed 412 of the 435 miles. This was a great challenge! I'm active, on the daily, so it was fun to log all the miles (walking and running) since November 5th and see just how far I'd gotten across the state of Illinois.


Peeps. As much as I love all things sugar, I cannot tolerate these pretty treats. I came across a recipe on Instagram, though, where you can make Rice Krispie treats ala Peeps. So, I gave it a whirl, and it was a success. 


So, there you have it! It was a crazy cold and windy week, but there also was ample sunshine...almost on the daily. That, my friends, is what I'm choosing to remember.

How were things in your world this week? Wind? Cold temps? Sunshine? Keeping active?


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31 comments:

  1. Love all that sun! We've had a lot the last few days which has been super - I did a run and a walk (the latter with my husband) today to take advantage! Good work all round, esp the distance.

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    1. I love all the sunshine, no matter the temps. The hubs and I took two walks today. HE's been really busy with work lately, so most of my walks have been solo (or early morning or at lunch).

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  2. I saw the Peep rice krispie treats and really want to try them! I'm not a fan of Peeps normally either...but those sound good :)

    The weather was all over the place in Minneapolis too, with LOTS of wind. But the weekend turned out perfect.

    Great job on your longest run post stress fracture- woohoo! Very impressive.

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    1. It's crazy how windy it was everywhere last week! I am so not a fan of that...

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  3. Wind, yes. Cold, yes. Sunshine . . . once in a blue moon, LOL! Hey, at least you didn't have snow. :)

    That's great that your 10 miler went so well. I swear 10 miles seems impossible to me right now! Sounds like you're all ready for your half. :)

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    1. I am so grateful we didn't have really any precip last week. That'll be a different story this week, I'm afraid.

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  4. The wind is the major reason I don't bike this time of year. It is just not pleasant for me. Sounds like you are ready to go for you half in a few weeks! I am kind of jealous of your in person races! Hope you back is feeling better! happy easter

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    1. Wind is really tough to fight on a bike! I'm glad I could sneak in a couple of rides this weekend, when the wind mellowed.

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  5. All the wind and colder temps here too. As I keep saying I really need Mother N to pick a lane!

    Way to go on your 10 miler! You'll be ready for your half for sure!

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    1. Mother N has really been unstable! She needs to just stay home LOL

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  6. We had alot of wind too, but the sunshine helped. Glad you had a good 10 miler! Sounds like you will be all set for your half in a few weeks.

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    1. Most of the wind last week was so cold! It did feel balmy on Monday, and over the weekend. But, ugh. Still not much fun for running.

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  7. I saw that recipe for Peeps and was intrigued! I'm glad it turned out. I had my doubts :) I do like Peeps, but we didn't get any this year. You'd be surprised how little Easter candy there was if you waited to shop until yesterday (Saturday) like we did! LOL! Luckily we got the last 2 chocolate bunnies in town.

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    1. I was surprised how easy the Peeps Treats were...almost fool-proof! I'm not much of an Easter candy fan, other than Reese's eggs.

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  8. Ooh I don't like peeps either but the rice krispie treats look great!! What a good idea!

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    1. I was kind of excited to see the recipe. My kids never liked Peeps, either, but do like marshmallow stuff otherwise.

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  9. My prediction is that you're totally ready for the half. You've always kept up your endurance so your body was ready to jump to 10 and it will be ready to leap up to 13.1 on race day.

    I don't mind peeps, it's just that there are so many better Easter treats out there. However last night I saw Hot Tamale Peeps at the grocery store, and sorry but that crosses the line. I am a sucker for a goodie rice krispy treat though, so maybe I'll scoop up some peeps on sale and make a batch.

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    1. I had not thought about the endurance aspect of the half marathon, but was more concerned about my foot. I do think the endurance really helped me in that my whole body was "in condition" so the stress on my feet wasn't as intense.

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  10. Our best day was Saturday. Cool but at least Sunny.

    Hooray for 10 miles...you are BACK!!

    When will you run a half?

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    1. The half marathon is on April 18th, two weeks! It's a hilly course (I've run it many times), so I'll be focused more on the finish line and NOT the finish time.

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  11. You had a great week of workouts! I wasn't nearly as active exercise wise as most weeks, but that's to be expected when I'm at my mom's house and don't have my cardio equipment (I intentionally skipped strength training).

    I hope you're having a lovely Easter!

    Thanks for the linkup and have a great week!

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    1. Passing on the strength and HIIT/stairs did make me feel like it was a lighter week. I kind of was saving myself for Saturday's long run, though, so the guilt was a non-issue ;-)

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  12. I think they had pastel colored rice crispies at the grocery store — food technology is so fun these days. Yay on your 10 miler! I haven’t run that far yet, and my Achilles is tell me I shouldn’t. ;-(

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    1. Although I'd "only" gone as far as eight miles the week prior, jumping to 10 didn't really feel any more strenuous. I definitely feel pretty good about tapering back (to 8 miles, possibly less) this next weekend.

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  13. The Peep RKTs are a cute idea! I am not a straight up Peeps fan either. Oh yes the wind. And the near-record cold were tough to take. I'm so glad the weekend turned out nice!

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    1. I think most either love or detest Peeps...not many are on the fence. Wasn't that wind insane?!?!?

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  14. Yay for double digit post stress fracture runs! I'm not quite there yet but getting close. The 15k is the longest I've done and my leg was a bit sore post run so I'm thinking I'll give it a few more weeks before attempting double digits.

    We got a cold front here this past weekend which is very unlike Florida in April, but holy wind batman for you! That's crazy wind!

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    1. I'm very grateful the 10-miler felt so good. Mind you, I was tired, but nothing excessive. I felt "normal" this morning, but am erring on the side of utmost caution and not pushing myself these next two weeks before race day.

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  15. from shorts to fleece and gloves... my goodness!! we had two days of "spring" and the rest of the week was cold again. Ugh. Come on Mother Nature!!! Happy Birthday again to your hubs ! And YAY for a successful long run and that you got out for a ride on G as well!

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  16. I also saw the recipe for the Rice Krispies. Not a fan of peeps either but am intrigued about it.

    Hopefully the wind will stay away so we can enjoy some nice weather. I am also staying active but also want to do more.

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  17. Happy birthday to your hubby!

    Our weather has been straight up insane. I love the cooler temps, but 80 one day and 40 the next is nonsense.

    I do like Peeps, but this year we used them as garnish on cocktails. Unrelated, but you look amazing in neutrals, too!

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